Nothing But Subtle
by merinxD
Summary: Sakura and Sasuke relax on the roof of her house after work. They have always been subtle, and this moment is no different. / Tumblr prompt.


**Prompt:** Sasuke and Sakura have a moment on the roof.

_Summary: Sakura and Sasuke relax on the roof of her house after work. They have always been subtle, and this moment is no different. _

_unedited_

xxxx

Sasuke and Sakura had never been anything but subtle. They were understated in a way that many 'normal' couples couldn't pull off, except they weren't together yet.

That was just a logistical matter, though, and Sasuke hoped that Sakura understood, because of who they were.

They weren't always subtle - especially not Sakura -, and Sasuke was obvious in his own way as well. He had thought that he detested her, but then he realised that he had been fooling himself. It was easy to miss, he figured.

Yes, Sasuke's affection for Sakura had been the opposite. He had proclaimed to find her 'annoying', and he certainly wasn't nice to her in public. Sakura pushed his boundaries, though, and Sasuke remembered her crawling all over him every chance she got.

Then, when no-one was around, Sakura wouldn't crowd him. They spent a lot of time in silence back then, and now. Sasuke knew that when Sakura became nervous she would chatter, and it always gave him an ego boost to know it was because of him.

Sasuke thought of their adolescence as fondly. There was a lot of shit in between the good, and it only caused him to focus on Sakura more. She smiled a lot, and was there.

Sasuke understood what it felt like to have people behind him, now, but he didn't before and it was confusing. Now, he took the good with bad, and kept on living.

Which left him sitting on the roof of Sakura's house, watching as the evening light turned to dark. The stars were already showing, and Sakura sighed beside him.

Just like when they were young – Silence.

Sasuke had wondered, when he first returned to Konoha, if Sakura would be the same as before. He found that she wasn't, but there were parts – like this moment – that were. He learned that Sakura had other qualities the he enjoyed, as well; though they were heaped amongst some rather annoying habits.

Sasuke could get over the little stuff; the imperfections were what made his friends who they were.

None of it mattered to him.

Sasuke didn't care that Sakura was still too loud, or that she liked to walk too closely; he didn't mind that people thought that they were an item, or that Sakura was oblivious to the rumour.

And above all, Sasuke was okay with the fact that she already answered questions for him in public, and ordered his food, even after it had been so long.

It had only been a couple of months since he'd been home, but Sasuke already knew what he felt, and what he needed to do about it. He just wasn't sure how to say it yet.

So, he said nothing.

The stars shone brighter as the half moon winked down at them. Children had already been shooed into their homes for dinner. A litter of dogs barked nearby, and people could be heard going about their lives.

Sasuke felt full, and he enjoyed the idea of a life like this, in Konoha.

He needed to make his intentions known, though, before he left for his journey.

"Sasuke." Sakura said, and he came back to earth.

Sasuke made a "Hm?" sound in reply, and Sakura smiled widely.

"What?" He asked, becoming a little defensive. The laziness that he felt was starting to evaporate –

"Relax. I just thought you were cute." Sakura told him, as if should make him less defensive.

It did though…

It took a moment for Sasuke to forumulate his response, and even he was surprised his answer,

"Okay." He murmured, accepting her words of affection.

Then, he turned back to look at the street as he slid closer to her. Their knees bumped and Sasuke looked away, to the side.

Sakura did the same, and if anyone could have seen them, they would have thought it to be a sight.

"You're okay with that?" Sakura asked softly, after a moment, and Sasuke glanced back to her. He needn't have worried, because her head was facing away.

It gave him a view of her blushed ears, and tinged nape. He couldn't help that his eyes lingered on the stray pink hair at the base of her neck.

"Okay with what?" He asked, remembering that there was a question.

Sakura cleared her throat, and then said _very _ meekly, "That I think you're cute?"

Sasuke coughed, then, and he felt himself turning red again. Still, he sensed that this moment was important and he pushed the strange feelings downward.

He felt like he wanted to run away.

"I'm manly, Sakura." He said, and it came out harsher than intended. He tacked on smoothly, just to be sure, "But I don't suppose I'll be unable to change your opinion. Didn't you tell me that you do what you want?" He smirked, thinking back to a haughty moment from the day before.

Sakura's shoulders straightened, and she turned to look at Sasuke. Her eyes were big and she looked like she had figured something out.

Good. This was getting tiring.

"Everyone does and thinks what they want." Sakura stated, somehow managing to look innocent and wise at the same time.

"Yeah?" He asked.

Sakura nodded, and she looked like she was about to dictate a thesis, which could take a couple hours.

So he stopped her promptly, with choice words,

"It is you who is cute." He said, in a stunted fashion. His tone was calm but serious. Sasuke knew that Sakura was someone that relied on words. He wasn't going to hate himself for saying something he thought was ridiculous - not if it made his intended point.

It did.

Sakura's eyebrows rose, and a bright smile came to her face.

She looked at him, really looked, and they didn't speak.

Then, she smirked, and her eyes narrowed a little.

"That's what you think?" She repeated his words, and somehow, it didn't bother him.

Sasuke decided that he had already thought what he wanted, and said it, so now he was going to do what he wanted.

"Shut up." He groused, giving her a half believable frown.

Nevertheless, Sakura smiled.

The night continued on, and Sasuke and Sakura continued to relax silently.

They had always been silent -understated.

It was time that he tried something other than subtle.

So Sasuke reached out, and took Sakura's hand in his; it was soft, and warm against his own. He could feel her pulse through his skin.

Sakura didn't reply as their fingers linked together.

Perhaps it wasn't something that they could help.

There was nothing wrong with being subtle.

xxx

Thanks for reading. Request or read more prompts at my blog - merinxd dot tumblr dot com


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